Media Director

Director, Commerce Media Planning

Flywheel is looking for a Director, Commerce Media Planning to lead commerce media strategy for a large, enterprise-scale client. Embedded within the client's integrated agency team, this role will represent Flywheel and serve as the connective tissue between upper-funnel media, brand strategy and lower-funnel commerce performance.

You will partner across agencies and disciplines to translate the client's brand and portfolio priorities into integrated commerce media strategies. A critical part of the role will be connecting major business priorities and seasonal moments — from brand platforms and innovation launches to tentpole events and peak retail periods — with the retail media and commerce plans that drive consideration, conversion and growth.

This is a senior client leadership role requiring strong executive presence, deep commerce media expertise and the ability to influence without relying solely on direct authority. You will lead the strategic relationship for Flywheel within the integrated agency team, manage and develop a team of planners, and ensure commerce is meaningfully connected to the broader media ecosystem.

The ideal candidate is accountable, bold, communicative and collaborative. They are comfortable challenging conventional thinking, bringing diverse teams together and translating complex business and media challenges into clear strategies that deliver measurable outcomes.

Integrated Client and Agency Leadership

• Represent Flywheel within the client's integrated agency team, building trusted relationships across media, creative, strategy, analytics, commerce and other agency partners.
• Lead the synergy between upper-funnel media and lower-funnel commerce, ensuring brand strategy and commerce activation work together to drive business outcomes.
• Translate brand, portfolio and business priorities into integrated media and commerce strategies.
• Ensure commerce considerations are embedded early in planning, rather than treated as a downstream activation channel.
• Influence cross-agency planning and investment decisions through a strong point of view on the role of commerce throughout the consumer journey.
• Serve as Flywheel's strategic voice in client and agency conversations, bringing clarity, leadership and a distinctive commerce perspective.
• Partner with client and agency leadership to define priorities, resolve challenges and identify opportunities for greater integration.
• Build and maintain strong executive relationships that foster long-term partnership, candid feedback and continued growth.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the client and a strategic partner to the broader agency team.

Brand, Portfolio and Seasonal Planning

• Lead commerce media strategy for major brand and portfolio priorities, including innovation launches, category growth initiatives and business-critical big bets.
• Connect upper-funnel media plans to lower-funnel retail and commerce opportunities across the path to purchase.
• Develop integrated strategies for key seasonal moments, tentpole events and peak retail periods.
• Ensure seasonal planning accounts for consumer behavior, retailer dynamics, promotional calendars, product availability, retail readiness and media effectiveness.
• Build planning roadmaps that connect long-term brand growth with near-term commerce performance.
• Establish clear roles for commerce media across awareness, consideration, conversion and loyalty.
• Ensure plans are activated consistently across the most relevant retail environments, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kroger and Instacart.
• Identify opportunities to use brand and portfolio investments to strengthen retail performance and long-term consumer value.

Commerce Media Strategy and Planning

• Lead the development of commerce media strategies across Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Instacart and other relevant platforms.
• Build custom media architectures based on business objectives, portfolio priorities, competitive dynamics, consumer behavior and retailer ecosystems.
• Connect retail media, paid search, shopping, programmatic and other performance-based tactics into cohesive, full-funnel plans.
• Use market trends, competitive intelligence, retailer data, consumer insights and Flywheel's proprietary tools to inform recommendations.
• Define planning principles, KPIs and measurement approaches in partnership with client, agency, Analytics and Marketing Science teams.
• Monitor brand, category, retail and media performance, translating results into clear strategic recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to improve the connection between media exposure, shopper behavior, retail engagement and sales outcomes.
• Develop innovation roadmaps that identify new platforms, capabilities, audiences, formats and opportunities for client growth.
• Lead client and agency workshops when needed, bringing a clear point of view and practical solutions.
• Ensure plans translate effectively into activation, optimization and measurable commercial outcomes.
• Analyze retail sales and media performance reports, clearly explaining the relationship between media activity, shopper behavior and business results.

Measurement and Business Outcomes

• Establish measurement frameworks that connect commerce media activity to client business outcomes.
• Develop and communicate success measures across the consumer journey, balancing brand and performance indicators.
• Use metrics including market share, lifetime value, incrementality and share of search to evaluate strategic effectiveness and guide investment.
• Partner with Analytics, Marketing Science and client teams to understand the relationship between brand-building activity, media performance and commerce outcomes.
• Translate complex data and measurement results into clear implications and recommendations for senior leaders and day-to-day teams.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve effectiveness, efficiency and the quality of decision-making.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of commerce media planners and related account team members.
• Provide direction on planning quality, strategic thinking, client partnership, prioritization and career development.
• Establish clear standards for integrated planning, storytelling, measurement and execution.
• Create a culture of collaboration, accountability, curiosity and continuous learning.
• Ensure the team has the training, resources and tools needed to deliver high-quality work.
• Develop team members' ability to connect brand, media, retail and performance strategies.
• Contribute to hiring, team structure, resourcing and succession planning.
• Maintain team morale and motivation while supporting sustainable, effective ways of working.
• Encourage productive debate, diverse perspectives and clear decision-making across the team.
• Identify opportunities to improve operating efficiency while maintaining quality and work/life balance.

Strategic and Commercial Leadership

• Own the strategic health and quality of Flywheel's work for the assigned enterprise client.
• Identify opportunities to expand Flywheel's value within the client relationship in ways that support the client's business objectives.
• Partner with Flywheel leadership on account planning, forecasting, resourcing and profitability management, as appropriate.
• Oversee multiple workstreams and ensure delivery against client goals, commercial commitments and agreed scopes of work.
• Proactively identify and resolve client, agency, operational and delivery risks.
• Ensure strategic recommendations are practical, clearly scoped and aligned to activation capabilities.
• Share relevant commerce and media intelligence internally, helping strengthen Flywheel's broader capabilities and points of view.
• Contribute to thought leadership, industry engagement and new business opportunities as needed.
• Travel based on client and business needs.

Who You Are

• You bring 7+ years of experience in commerce media, retail media, integrated media planning, strategy or a related discipline.
• You have experience supporting enterprise-scale clients and managing complex, high-visibility client relationships.
• You are experienced working within an integrated agency model and influencing across partner agencies, disciplines and senior stakeholder groups.
• You are deeply familiar with the retail media ecosystem, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Kroger and Instacart.
• You understand how to connect upper-funnel brand strategy with lower-funnel commerce activation and performance.
• You have experience planning around brand and portfolio priorities, innovation launches, seasonal moments and major business events.
• You understand how to develop strategies across the full consumer journey, from awareness and consideration through conversion and loyalty.
• You are comfortable using business and media effectiveness metrics such as market share, lifetime value, incrementality and share of search to evaluate strategy and guide investment.
• You are a confident executive communicator who can represent Flywheel credibly with senior clients, agency partners and internal leadership.
• You are skilled at influencing without direct authority and creating alignment across complex stakeholder groups.
• You are an effective people leader who develops talent, mentors planners and builds high-performing teams.
• You are commercially minded, with experience identifying growth opportunities and contributing to account health and profitability.
• You are comfortable working with data, insights and measurement while maintaining a clear strategic perspective.
• You are passionate about challenging conventional thinking and advancing the role of commerce media in driving brand and business growth